A 7-year-old girl was killed and a 5-year-old boy was injured Saturday night when another 5-year-old boy accidentally discharged a gun at a birthday party in Gaston.

GASTON — A 7-year-old girl was killed and a 5-year-old boy was injured Saturday night when another 5-year-old boy accidentally discharged a gun at a birthday party in Gaston.

Lexington County Sheriff James Metts says the children were outside a home on Wild Bird Lane shortly before 9 p.m. when the 5-year-old asked his mom if he could get his toy gun out of the trunk of her boyfriend’s car. The sheriff says the mother and young boy didn’t realize the boyfriend kept a loaded gun in the trunk, and when the boy reached for it he accidentally pulled the trigger.

The bullet went through the trunk and its fragments struck the girl in the chest and another boy in the arm.

The two were taken to Lexington Medical Center where the girl was pronounced dead and the boy remains with a non-life threatening injury to his arm.

Sheriff Metts says this was a preventable accident and could have been stopped by using a gun lock or supervising the boy when he went through the trunk.

Officials continue to investigate the accident and say charges may be possible depending on what they conclude from interviews.